With environmental and health impacts factored in, solar power is far less costly than coal-fired electricity generation – more than two-thirds cheaper in the USA.
A Duke University study states when environmental and health damages are added into costs of power generation, coal comes out at a whopping (USD) 42 cents per kilowatt hour compared to 13 cents for solar.
Wind is even cheaper at just 8 cents per kilowatt hour according to the study – and there have recently been wind projects that will sell electricity significantly cheaper again.
Even natural gas is significantly more expensive than solar, with costs rising to 17 cents per kilowatt hour.
“We think we know what the prices of fossil fuels are, but their impacts on climate and human health are much larger than previously realized,” said Drew T. Shindell, professor of climate sciences at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and author of the paper. “We’re making decisions based on misleading costs.”
Those missed costs include, but are by no means limited to: premature death or illness caused by air pollution, higher healthcare costs, lower crop yields, absenteeism, increased insurance damages from floods and other extreme weather events linked to climate change.
Professor Shindell’s findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change, are based on methodology introduced in 2010 to assist the U.S. government in gauging the social costs of carbon. He developed his own models without any funding from external sources.
With regard to transport, the social cost of a gallon of diesel is about USD $4.80 more than the pump price. Electric vehicle owners will also have food for thought. While the social costs of a typical mid-range gasoline-powered vehicle come to nearly USD $2,000 a year; annual damages associated with an electric vehicle are still rather hefty at $1,000 if the power comes exclusively from coal.
Professor Shindell acknowledges putting a cost on damages can be challenging because there are so many factors in play. Some might think his figures are too conservative.
A study from Stanford University published in the journal Nature Climate Change in January estimates the social cost of carbon at USD $220 a ton; which is six times higher than the value that the United States government uses to guide current energy regulations.
